How Free Are You?

Woodcut: “The Ship of Fools”

What happens if you live off-grid?
If you live independent of utilities, water, and sewer, and provide your own energy through solar panels, have your own sewer system, and use rainwater, you may run into problems with your local government. Robin Speroni of Cape Coral, Florida, was sued by local officials that her off-grid home was illegal, citing the International Property Maintenance Code. She was found guilty of not being hooked to the water supply. Continue reading

Freedom to Farm or Bust

Martha Boneta (Lider photo) Martha Boneta at Liberty Farm
Photo: Susan Lider
Virginia, like many other states, offers land preservation tax credits of $100 million a year. Land preservation tax credits are tied to conservation easements which are binding agreements between a land preservation trust (usually a NGO) and a farmer who receives tax breaks in exchange for “legally restricting future development of their property” for a number of years or in perpetuity, as specified in the contract. Continue reading

Agenda 21, Cooked Science Data, and Property Rights

BookCoverImage The State House voted 79-36 on February 4, 2015 on HB490 introduced by Rep. Becky Currie. “The State of Mississippi and all political subdivisions thereof shall not adopt, nor implement, the creed, doctrine, principle or any tenet of the United States Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the Statement of Principles of Sustainable Development known as ‘Agenda 21,’ adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and development, held from June 3-14, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, or any other international law contravening the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Mississippi.” A companion Senate Bill, SB2809 has been introduced by Sen. Melanie Sojourner. Other states have proposed similar bills, Maine, Wyoming, Washington, Tennessee, and Missouri. http://overpassforamerica.com/?p=4820 Continue reading

Time to Counter Land Trust Abuse Against Farmers

One chapter is dedicated to Martha's story.

One chapter is dedicated to Martha’s story.


Tired of land trust agents frequently abusing the public trust and the rights of property owners, Tom DeWeese, President of the American Policy Center, Martha Boneta, owner of Liberty Farm in Paris, Virginia and other major property rights advocates are organizing a property rights rally, conference, and an early morning hearing before the Virginia Outdoors Federation on November 6, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia at the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Continue reading

The Environmentalists Are Not Giving Up

Liberty Farm
Liberty Farm, Paris, Virginia
Photo: Martha Boneta, March 2014
The small farmers in Virginia rejoiced when Senate Bill 51 and House Bill 268, dubbed the “Boneta Bill,” passed both houses and the Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe signed it. The bill gave farmers legal protection from overreaching and overzealous county bureaucrats who impose unreasonable requirements and unnecessary fees on small farmers.
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Conservation Easements for Unsuspecting Farmers

072Orchard in northern Virginia
After Delegate Bobby Orrock introduced on January 8, 2014, HB 268 and Senator Richard Stuart filed a companion bill, SB51, Delegate Bob Marshall introduced on January 17, 2014, HB 1219.

The first two bills reintroduced the Right to Farm Act HB 1430 (Boneta Bill) which passed in the House but was defeated in the Virginia Senate last year. I have discussed the battle in my recent article, “Boneta Bill Part Deux.” http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/60539
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The Boneta Bill in Virginia to Protect the Right to Farm

Martha Boneta never dreamed that she would be at the center of a battle in Virginia that will have implications for every small farmer in America. I have met her last year and wrote two articles (http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52188) about her battle with the board of supervisors in Fauquier County. I have featured Martha in my book, “U.N. Agenda 21: Environmental Piracy.” (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=un+agenda+21+environmental+piracy+kindle)
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